Wizard Wenger must conjure up something fast

THERE are still plenty of Gooners clinging on like grim death to the hope that the greatest manager our glorious club has ever known, might yet prove he’s not become entirely blind to reality.

In the knowledge that the blow of losing two of our most virtuoso stars has been a problem, which has been on the horizon for so long, it seems inconceivable Arsene has carried on regardless of this worst-case scenario, without any contingency plans?

Recent rumours contend the club’s failure to plug the most obvious gaps is a direct result of Arsene being at loggerheads with the board, both in his efforts to strengthen the squad and to provide the wage parity which could prevent our remaining world-class talent being cherry-picked at will in future by those with deeper pockets.

With Arsene being such a steadfast company man, we’ll never be privy to what goes on behind the boardroom’s closed doors.

Nevertheless, while the media delights in portraying British football’s increasingly endangered Captain Sensible more and more like a deranged Mr Magoo, we continue to clutch at the straw which protrudes from our manager’s sleeve, so long as the transfer window remains open, praying there’s a masterstroke up there which might stem the tsunami of criticism.

Never mind the opportunity offered by the trip to Udinese of being able to see Venice before it sinks, I’m more concerned with the potential scuttling of the good ship Arsenal.

The mascot for tonight’s game in Italy might have been best advised to pack his boots. Or perhaps better still, a bucket, so long as we continue taking on water with the disastrous deluge of injuries that threaten a premature Champions League exit.

With the rash of naive crimes that have resulted in the suspensions that will see us travelling to Old Trafford on Sunday with a water-thin squad, if ever there was an outing that’s guaranteed to sift out the loyal wheat from the glory-hunting chaff, it’s this daunting trip, where only the bravest masochists amongst us will fancy the prospect of facing further ridicule in the north-west.

Even in the event that we scrape into the Champions league proper, with the lucrative cash-cow of the group stages providing welcome respite to what looks likely to be a season-long struggle to keep pace with the domestic competition, it becomes harder and harder to defend our esteemed manager.

They were taking bets in the pub before Saturday’s game against the Scousers on how long Manny Frimpong would last before being booked. But so long as the young Ghanaian tank remained on the pitch, there was a glimmer of hope that, combined with Vermaelen’s resolve, the Gunners have begun to acquire a long-awaited air of robustness.

Sadly it’s not like we haven’t grown all too accustomed to dropping crucial points on home turf, but what was most disconcerting about this display was the patent absence of the glue that binds the Gunners’ disparate parts and which has in the past at least enabled us to dominate possession of the football.

While Arsenal fans have spent so long obsessing about our frailties at the back, suddenly without Fabregas at our fulcrum, there’s an apparent disconnect everywhere else on the pitch.

To my mind, there was no greater admission of our squad’s limitations than the involvement of the departing Bendtner and Nasri.

But with the inability or unwillingness of the likes of Ramsey, Walcott and Arshavin to stamp their mark and maintain control of the ball over Lucas, Henderson and Adams in midfield, you have to fear for how we might fare in the face of a stiffer test.